The Hidden Man – As this episode begins, Inspector Sullivan (Tom Chambers) checks out the crime scene where an art dealer was discovered murdered. They find a handkerchief nearby as Sullivan blames Flambeau. The man is featured in the newspaper. Father Brown (Mark Williams) tells Mrs. Devine (Claudie Blakley) about the article. He mentions that a painting by Pierre Paul Prud’hon was stolen. When Brenda (Ruby-May Martinwood) asks if Flambeau was his mate, Father Brown says he wouldn’t describe him as that.

Brenda says he is a world-famous thief before Devine says he is now a murderer. Father Brown argues that it doesn’t make sense. Inspector Sullivan arrives to tell them he is conducting a manhunt. He is placing Sergeant Goodfellow there on permanent watch because of Brown’s association with the accused. Although Father Brown doesn’t like the idea, Sullivan says it is for his own safety since Flambeau isn’t the man he once knew. Brown denies that Flambeau is a cold-blooded killer. Outside, Sullivan tells Goodfellow that this is the opportunity he has been waiting for to say goodbye to Kembleford for good.

While Father Brown is working, he sees Flambeau enter the church and walk into the confessional. Brown joins him seconds later. Flambeau (John Light) declares that he is innocent for once. It could be anyone since he has wronged so many people, but he thinks he knows where they’re going to strike next. He shows Brown a piece of paper and says there was a diamond theft in Monte Carlo three weeks ago. Flambeau was nowhere near there. He also wasn’t in Berlin during that robbery. It seems someone is stealing back the items he previously stole. He shows Father Brown the gold bracelet he also stole that day and explains it could be the next target.

It has been put up for sale by an anonymous seller. Brown says someone is going to great lengths to flush him out and they’re not afraid to kill. Flambeau believes they’ll be at the auction so he wants to be there with Brown even though he knows it is a trap. Father Brown takes the Sergeant a cup of tea. When at he goes back inside, he finds that Devine is going to pretend to be him to prevent suspicion. Father Brown and Flambeau sneak away to the auction. The auctioneer, Edwin Blythe, comes outside to talk to the head of security, Joe Bloom, about why they’re not carrying guns. Edwin is worried about the master criminal trying to steal the valuables.

Father Brown asks Flambeau if he knows anything about the previous owners of the items he stole. He says the auction records are long since gone. They’re approached by Lester Garrick who says he always admired Saint Nicholas. He hopes they’ll bid on it since there is no fun without a bit of good-natured rivalry. In private, Father Brown asks Flambeau why an anonymous seller would bid themselves. Flambeau explains that he doesn’t plan on paying for it. The waiter brings Christopher Lane or Flambeau a drink, cigarettes, and a tip. The note says they’re from a lifelong student of his work. Sergeant Goodfellow ends up walking over to Brenda and Devine who is dressed as Father Brown.

He ends up catching Devine. When the auction begins, Brown and Flambeau notice that one of the workers has a prison tattoo. Devine and Brenda are grilled by Inspector Sullivan who soon learns that Flambeau was spotted at the auction house. Bidding for the bracelet begins. Once Lester wins and walks out, Flambeau follows him out of the room. Sullivan enters and asks an officer to seal off the drive. Hercule overhears Lester talking to his wife about buying the bracelet for their soon-to-be 16-year-old. Father Brown tells Sullivan that there is an impersonator with a vendetta against Flambeau only to be warned he is aiding and abetting Hercule.

Father Brown suspects the anonymous tipper wanted Hercule to be caught red-handed all along. Edwin notices that the worker has prison tattoos and is acting suspiciously around the bracelet. He admits he has a wayward past. Edwin doesn’t want him anywhere near the valuables. He stabs him in the back when he turns around. After Edwin puts up the knife, Hercule walks in and finds out what has happened. Edwin throws a vase at him and begins yelling that Flambeau is there. He leaves a handkerchief and flees. The waitress pulls up in a car to help him escape, but Hercule tackles him outside. Sullivan and Father Brown find the murder victim.

Sullivan sees the handkerchief and immediately suspects it was Flambeau. Once Sullivan leaves, Father Brown finds hair in the victim’s hand. Edwin tells Flambeau that he wants to see him twisting on the end of a rope. Although Edwin gets away, he has to leave the bracelet on the ground. As the police rush out, Flambeau tells Father Brown he is trusting him with the one bargaining chip they have left. Hercule is taken into custody by Sullivan. Brown puts the bracelet in his pocket. Sullivan tells the press about the arrest and explains that Hercule will remain at Kembleford police station overnight.

He will appear at Kembleford Magistrates’ Court tomorrow. The waitress in the audience. She asks whether the stolen item was recovered. Sullivan says they’re searching for it before confirming that Joe Bloom was killed. Edwin suspects Hercule found it and hid it before he was caught. His partner wants to go away, but Edwin is adamant about getting the bracelet. Hercule tells Sullivan that the auctioneer killed the security guard and stole the bracelet, but Sullivan doesn’t want to believe it. Sullivan makes it clear that he isn’t going to let him escape. Then, he confronts Brown to ask why he shouldn’t charge him and his accomplices.

Father Brown takes full responsibility. Sullivan admits he is feeling charitable so he isn’t going to charge him. As he walks away, Brown tells him that Hercule is right-handed. As for the stab wound, it was on the victim’s left-hand side and the auctioneer is left-handed. The strands of hair in the victim’s hand were blonde, but there were no cuticles so the auctioneer was wearing a wig. He wonders if Sullivan is being blinded by his desire for career advancement. Sullivan argues that Father Brown just doesn’t want to believe his friend could be a cold-blooded killer. He goes on to say Brown hasn’t made any difference after all these years and he can’t save him any longer.

Once Sullivan leaves, Brown asks about having a few minutes alone with Flambeau. In private, Hercule tells him that he’ll find a way to get out of this. He wants Father Brown to clear him of murder in the meantime. Hercule suggests he can lure Edwin out and convince him to confess. After Father Brown says he is unlikely to do that, Hercule says they’re both doomed. Father Brown returns to Devine and Brenda. Even though he reminds them that the man is dangerous, they’re adamant that they want to help. He says he thinks he knows where to start. When Father Brown gets into his vehicle, he is stalked by Edwin and his female friend.

Sullivan brags about the arrest on the phone. He schedules a meeting with the caller and suspects he is going to get a promotion. Sergeant Goodfellow interrupts to tell him he couldn’t find a witness statement for the auctioneer. His inspector’s exams are coming up so he wants to make sure he covered all the bases. Goodfellow got the details of Edwin Blythe. When he telephoned him, it turned out to be a dry cleaners. He called around the other auction houses and no one has heard of Edwin Blythe. Sullivan instructs him to discreetly try to get his fingerprints from the gavel and cross-match them against criminal records. Meanwhile, Brown and the others try to learn more about Flambeau’s impersonator.

They check newspaper archives and find one about Flambeau’s thefts. He stole a painting by Pierre-Paul Prud’hon and a gold bracelet that was offered for sale by financier Magnus Fleming. They question why a financier was selling a bracelet. They find another article about Magnus hanging himself two weeks after the sale. He was destitute after the London Stock Market Crash and left behind a 12-year-old named Sebastien Fleming. He’d be 37 now so they wonder if it could be him. Two people enter, throw a bag over Brenda’s head, and threaten to stab her. Father Brown agrees to go with them if they leave the others alone. A solicitor visits Flambeau.

Once they’re alone, he warns him that Brown dies if he touches him. Sebastien shows Hercule the scrapbook he started making a few days after he found his father hanging by his neck. He did it to learn everything he could about Flambeau so he could hunt him down and make him pay. Sebastien admits that he blames him for a lot of things including four years in an orphanage. He also stole the bracelet which was the only thing he had left of his mother. When the cancer took her, he clung to those words and to the bracelet until Flambeau stole it. Hercule reminds him that it was up for auction so he would’ve lost it anyway.

Sebastien admits he begged him not to sell it, but it was the only thing they had left. They would’ve been on the streets otherwise. Hercule argues that he shouldn’t be blamed for turning him into a raving psychopath. Sebastien wants him to tell him where he hid the bracelet. If he doesn’t, he will leave there and slit Father Brown’s throat. Hercule threatens to choke the life out of him, but he yells for the Sergeant instead. He says he’ll no longer need legal representation. Goodfellow tells Sullivan that a witness said the auctioneer wore gloves throughout the bidding process. The hair in the security guard’s fingers was from a blonde wig.

Sullivan wants to focus on transporting Flambeau. Brenda and Devine run over to tell Goodfellow that Father Brown has been captured. Hercule talks to Sullivan about returning while he removes his handcuffs. He suggests Sullivan will be brought embarrassment after this. Flambeau attacks him, grabs the gun, and eventually escapes from the van. Goodfellow drops off Brenda and Devine. He tells them to go inside and lock the doors. Flambeau drops his gun while fleeing through the woods. Father Brown talks to Lila and suggests Sebastien would sacrifice everything to get what he wants. As she pulls a gun on him, Brown says he uses all women.

Sebastien returns. Father Brown suspects he didn’t tell him where the bracelet was. He says Flambeau didn’t tell him because he doesn’t know. Father Brown says he can’t hide the frightened little boy in the photograph no matter how many disguises he uses. Flambeau suspects Devine and Brenda before asking about the bracelet. They try to help him figure out where Brown would’ve hidden it. Once they make it to the field, they hide because Sebastien and the others arrive. Flambeau worries that Sebastien will cut Brown’s throat once he shows him where the bracelet is. Father Brown explains he wrapped it up because it is precious.

Brenda sneezes and gives them away so Flambeau comes out of hiding. Lila wants to flee, but Sebastien wants to stay to finish what he started. Lila grabs the bracelet and gets into the vehicle. Flambeau begins choking Sebastien. Father Brown tells him he’ll be no better than him if he kills him. Hercule ends up fleeing in Devine’s vehicle. When Sullivan arrives, Brown tells him that Sebastien is the killer he was looking for. Later, Sullivan gets a call from the Commissioner and tells him how Flambeau likely escaped using a staple to unlock the handcuffs. He says the last thing he’d want to do is cause the department any embarrassment.

The Commissioner doesn’t want to meet anymore. After the call, an angry Sullivan throws his calendar to the ground. Father Brown doubts they’ll catch Hercule. He believes there is still a good man inside Flambeau. Sergeant Goodfellow arrives to tell Devine they found her car abandoned in some woods about 20 miles away. There is no news of Flambeau. Father Brown admits he thinks they owe the Sergeant an apology. He tells them that they caught Lila though and got the bracelet. When Brown suggests he should visit Sullivan, he is told not to.

 

Father Brown Review

In this episode of Father Brown, Hercule Flambeau returned to ask Brown for assistance because he is being wrongfully accused of murder. Sullivan saw an opportunity to capture Hercule so he could get a promotion to Scotland Yard. While Hercule added nostalgia to the episode, it turned out to be just okay.

Father Brown was supposedly at risk multiple times in this episode, but it never felt like there was really any threat to him obviously. The twist of the auctioneer being a victim of Flambeau and taking his life as a result was interesting although something that has been done before. The series hasn’t been bad, but it hasn’t managed to recreate the magic of some of the earlier episodes.

The episode scores a 6 out of 10. Recaps of Father Brown are available on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support us at this link. Learn more about advertising opportunities on Reel Mockery here.